13.16.030 Prohibited discharge.
   No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW any pollutant or wastewater which causes pass through or interference. These general prohibitions apply to all users of the POTW, whether or not they are subject to categorical pretreatment standards or any other national, state, or local pretreatment standards or requirements.
   A.   Specific Prohibitions. No user shall introduce or cause to be introduced into the POTW the following pollutants, substances, or wastewater:
   1.   Pollutants which create a fire or explosive hazard in the POTW, including, but not limited to, wastestreams with a closed-cup flashpoint of less than one hundred forty degrees Fahrenheit (sixty degrees Celsius) using the test methods specified in 40 CFR 261.21;
   2.   Wastewater having a pH less than 6.0 or more than 11.0, or otherwise causing corrosive structural damage to the POTW or equipment;
   3.   Solid or viscous substances in amounts which will cause obstruction of the flow in the POTW resulting in interference;
   4.   Pollutants, including oxygen-demanding pollutants (BOD, etc.), released in a discharge at a flow rate and/or pollutant concentration which, either singly or by interaction with other pollutants, will cause interference with the POTW;
   5.   Wastewater having a temperature greater than one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit (sixty-five degrees Celsius), or which will inhibit biological activity in the treatment plant resulting in interference, but in no case wastewater which causes the temperature at the introduction into the treatment plant to exceed one hundred four degrees Fahrenheit (forty degrees Celsius);
   6.   Petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin, in amounts that will cause interference or pass through;
   7.   Pollutants which result in the presence of toxic gases, vapors, or fumes within the POTW in a quantity that may cause acute worker health and safety problems;
   8.   Trucked or hauled pollutants, except at the discharge points designated by the utility service board;
   9.   Noxious or malodorous liquids, gases, solids, or other wastewater which, either singly or by interaction with other wastes, are sufficient to create a public nuisance or a hazard to life, or to prevent entry into the sewers for maintenance or repair;
   10.   Wastewater which imparts color which cannot be removed by the treatment process, such as, but not limited to, dye wastes and vegetable tanning solutions, which consequently impart color to the treatment plant's effluent, thereby violating the city's NPDES permit;
   11.   Wastewater containing any radioactive wastes or isotopes except in compliance with applicable state or federal regulations;
   12.   Storm water, surface water, ground water, artesian well water, roof runoff, subsurface drainage, swimming pool drainage, condensate, deionized water, noncontact cooling water, and unpolluted wastewater, unless specifically authorized by the utility service board;
   13.   Sludges, screenings, or other residues from the pretreatment of industrial wastes;
   14.   Medical wastes, except as specifically authorized by the utility service board in a wastewater discharge permit;
   15.   Wastewater causing, alone or in conjunction with other sources, the treatment plant's effluent to fail a toxicity test;
   16.   Detergents, surface-active agents, or other substances which may cause excessive foaming in the POTW;
   17.   Any wastes containing fats, 300 mg/1 Polar, 100 mg/1 Non-Polar, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or not, in excess of 100 mg/l. This 100 mg/l shall be given as non-polar oil and grease as defined in the latest edition of standard methods, and interpreted to mean petroleum oil, nonbiodegradable cutting oil, or products of mineral oil origin in amounts that could cause interference or a pass through condition at the wastewater treatment plant;
   18.   Any garbage that has not been properly shredded. The installation and operation of any garbage grinder (other than in a residence) may be subject to the review and approval of the utility service board.
   19.   Any waters or wastes containing strong acid iron pickling wastes, or concentrated plating solutions, whether neutralized or not;
   20.   Unusual concentrations of inert, suspended solids (such as, but not limited to, fuller's earth, lime slurries and lime residuals) or of dissolved solids (such as, but not limited to, sodium chloride and sodium sulfate); or
   21.   Any wastewater causing the treatment plant to fail a toxicity test.
   Pollutants, substances, or wastewater prohibited by this section shall not be processed or stored in such a manner that they could be discharged to the POTW.
   B.   National Categorical Pretreatment Standards. The categorical pretreatment standards found at 40 CFR Chapter 1, Subchapter N, Parts 405-471 are hereby incorporated.
   1.   Where a categorical pretreatment standard is expressed only in terms of either the mass or the concentration of a pollutant in wastewater, the utility service board may impose equivalent concentration or mass limits in accordance with 40 CFR 403.6(c).
   2.   When wastewater subject to a categorical pretreatment standard is mixed with wastewater not regulated by the same standard, the utility service board shall impose an alternate limit using the combined wastestream formula in 40 CFR 403.6(e).
   3.   A user may obtain a variance from a categorical pretreatment standard if the user can prove, pursuant to the procedural and substantive provisions in 40 CFR 403.13, that factors relating to its discharge are fundamentally different from the factors considered by the EPA when developing the categorical pretreatment standard.
   4.   A user may obtain a net gross adjustment to a categorical standard in accordance with 40 CFR 403.15.
   C.   The utility service board may reject any discharge to the POTW, in whole or part, that it determines to have the potential to either adversely effect POTW operations or cause or contribute to a violation of the city's NPDES permit.
   D.   No statement contained in this chapter shall be construed as preventing any special agreement or arrangement between the city and any industrial user. Furthermore, no special agreement or arrangement shall allow any industrial user to discharge pollutants in excess of the maximum allowable headworks loading (MAHL) of the POTW or conventional pollutants, which will exceed the POTW's designed capacity.
   E.   The utility service board may impose mass limitations in addition to, or in place of, any local limit established by this chapter. The mass limits shall not allow any industrial user to discharge pollutants in excess of the maximum allowable headworks loading (MAHL) of the POTW or conventional pollutants, which will exceed the POTW's designed capacity. Furthermore, the mass limit shall not be less stringent than federal or state requirements.
   F.   The following pollutant limits are established to protect against pass through and interference. No person shall discharge wastewater containing in excess of the parameters listed below. The following limits apply to the total for any non-domestic discharge prior to entering the city sewage collection system or at the sampling manhole:
 
Material
1 Day Maximum Concentration (mg/l)
Mass Limitation lb/day
Sample Type
Arsenic
Molybdenum
Cadmium
Silver
Copper
Cyanide (T)
Lead
Mercury
Nickel
Zinc
Chromium (Hex)
Chromium (T)
Phenol
1.000
1.000
0.026
1.000
0.546
0.121
0.359
0.001
0.725
1.558
0.058
1.684
2.000
1.000
1.000
0.061
1.000
1.271
0.282
0.835
0.003
1.688
3.625
0.136
3.918
NA
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab or Comp.
Grab
 
   1.   Dischargers shall meet the most stringent discharge limitation, federal, state or local.
   G.   The utility service board may develop best management practices (BMPs), by ordinance or in individual wastewater discharge permits, to implement local limits and the requirements of subsection 13.16.030(A).
   H.   Except as indicated below, the user must collect wastewater samples using flow proportional composite collection techniques. In the event flow proportional sampling is infeasible, the utility service board may authorize the use of time proportional sampling or a minimum of four grab samples, where the user demonstrates that this will provide a representative sample of the effluent being discharged. In addition, grab samples may be required to show compliance with instantaneous discharge limits.
   1.   Samples for oil and grease, temperature, pH, cyanide, phenols, sulfides, and volatile organic compounds must be obtained using grab collection techniques.
   I.   The city shall assess charges for fees and fines to industrial users of the POTW to compensate the city for the cost of administration of the pretreatment program. The city may adopt charges and fees which may include, but are not limited to:
   1.   Application fees for discharge permits.
   2.   Application fees for construction permits.
   3.   Fees charged to industries, monitoring.
   4.   Fees charged to industries, inspections.
   5.   Surcharges for high strength or high volume wastes.
   6.   Fees for filing appeals.
   7.   Fees for reviewing accidental discharge procedures and construction.
   8.   Fees for investigating and processing notices of violations.
   9.   Fines for discharge of non-compatible waste.
   J.   The city may establish, in wastewater discharge permits, more stringent standards or requirements on discharges to the POTW if deemed necessary to comply with the intent of this chapter.
   K.   Effluent limitations are based on the most stringent level, whether federal, state or local. Local limits are evaluated with each NPDES permit renewal.
   L.   The control authority may develop equivalent mass and concentration limits in lieu of production-based standards. A further explanation of this method is given in 40 CFR 403.6.
   M.   Any industrial user wishing to change a compliance monitoring point from end of process to end of pipe may do so with the approval of the utility service board. Limitations in this situation will be determined by the Combined Wastestream Formula (40 CFR 403.6(e)).
   1.   Stormwater and demineralizer backwash may be considered "unregulated waste streams".
   2.   Samples must be flow-proportioned where only non-regulated waste streams are combined after treatment but prior to the monitoring/control point.
   N.   Users shall provide wastewater treatment as necessary to comply with this chapter and shall achieve compliance with all categorical pretreatment standards, local limits, and the prohibitions set out in subsection A of this section within the time limitations specified by the EPA, the state, or the city, whichever is more stringent. Any facilities necessary for compliance shall be provided, operated, and maintained at the user's expense. Detailed plans describing such facilities and operating procedures shall be submitted to the city for review, and shall be acceptable to the city before such facilities are constructed. The review of such plans and operating procedures shall in no way relieve the user from the responsibility of modifying such facilities as necessary to produce a discharge acceptable to the city under the provisions of this chapter.
   1.   Plans, specifications, and any other pertinent information relating to pretreatment or control facilities shall be submitted for approval of the city and the state of Indiana, and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until approval, in writing, is granted. Where such facilities are provided, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operating order by the owner at his expense, and shall be subject to periodic inspection by the city to determine that such facilities are being operated in conformance with applicable federal, state and local laws and permits.
   O.   The utility service board shall have the right to enter the premises of any user to determine whether the user is complying with all requirements of this chapter, and any wastewater discharge permit or order issued hereunder. Users shall allow the utility service board ready access to all parts of the premises for the purposes of inspection, sampling, records examination and copying, and the performance of any additional duties.
   1.   Where a user has security measures in force which require proper identification and clearance before entry into its premises, the user shall make necessary arrangements with its security guards so that, upon presentation of suitable identification, the utility service board will be permitted to enter without delay for the purposes of performing specific responsibilities.
   2.   The utility service board shall have the right to set up on the user's property, or require installation of, such devices as are necessary to conduct sampling and/or metering of the user's operations.
   3.   The utility service board may require the user to install monitoring equipment as necessary. The facility's sampling and monitoring equipment shall be maintained at all times in a safe and proper operating condition by the user at its own expense. All devices used to measure wastewater flow and quality shall be calibrated annually to ensure their accuracy.
   4.   Any temporary or permanent obstruction to safe and easy access to the facility to be inspected and/or sampled shall be promptly removed by the user at the written or verbal request of the utility service board, and shall not be replaced. The costs of clearing such access shall be born by the user.
   5.   Unreasonable delays in allowing the utility service board access to the user's premises shall be a violation of this chapter.
   P.   The installation, operation and maintenance of the flow measuring and sampling facilities shall be the responsibility of the person discharging the wastes and shall be subject to the approval of the utility service board. When required by the utility service board, the owner of any property served by a building sewer carrying industrial wastes shall install a suitable control manhole in the building sewer to facilitate observation sampling and measurement of the wastes. Such manhole, when required, shall be accessibly and safely located, and shall be constructed in accordance with plans approved by the utility service board. The manhole shall be installed by the owner at his expense and shall be maintained by him so as to be safe and accessible at all times.
   Q.   Fats, grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of the utility service board, they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand and other harmful ingredients. All interceptors shall be of a type and capacity approved by the utility service board, and shall be located as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. Provided; however, that approval of any such interceptors by the utility service board shall not relieve any person of the responsibility of complying with the discharge requirements of this chapter.
   R.   Fats, grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be constructed of impervious materials capable of withstanding abrupt and extreme changes in temperature. They shall be of substantial construction, watertight and equipped with easily removable covers which, when bolted in place, shall be gastight and watertight.
   S.   Where installed, all fats, grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be maintained by the owner, at his expense, in continuously efficient operation at all times.
   T.   The admission into the public sewers of any waters or wastes having: 1. a five-day biochemical oxygen demand greater than two hundred fifty milligrams per liter by weight; or 2. containing more than two hundred fifty milligrams per liter by weight of suspended solids; or 3. containing any quantity of substance having the characteristics described in subsection B of this section; or 4. having an average daily flow greater than five percent of the average daily sewage flow of the city, shall be subject to the review and approval of the utility service board. Where necessary in the opinion of the utility service board, the owner shall provide, at his expense, such preliminary treatment as may be necessary to: 1. reduce the BOD to two hundred fifty milligrams per liter and the suspended solids to two hundred fifty milligrams per liter by weight; or 2. reduce objectionable characteristics or constituents to within the maximum limits provided in subsection B of this section; or 3. control the quantities and rates of discharge of such waters or wastes. Plans, specifications and any other pertinent information relating to proposed preliminary treatment facilities shall be submitted for the approval of the utility service board and of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and no construction of such facilities shall be commenced until such approval is obtained in writing.
   U.   Where preliminary treatment facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, they shall be maintained continuously in satisfactory and effective operation, by the owner at his expense.
   V.   All measurements, tests and analyses of the characteristics of waters and wastes to which reference is made in subsection B of this section shall be determined in accordance with 40 CFR Part 136.
   W.   No unauthorized person shall maliciously, willfully or negligently break, damage, destroy, uncover, deface or tamper with any structure, appurtenance or equipment which is a part of the sewage works. Any person violating this provision shall be subject to immediate arrest under charge of disorderly conduct.
   X.   No user shall ever increase the use of process water, or in any way attempt to dilute a discharge, as a partial or complete substitute for adequate treatment to achieve compliance with a discharge limitation unless expressly authorized by an applicable pretreatment standard or requirement. The city may impose mass limitations on users who are using dilution to meet applicable pretreatment standards or requirements, or in other cases when the imposition of mass limitations is appropriate.
(Ord. 10-12 (part), 2010; Ord. 04-17 (part), 2004; Ord. 04-2 (part), 2004; Ord. 99-16 (part), 1999)